Printable PDF Maps
You can export a course map as a PDF and print it. NaviTabi has two kinds of PDF map — personal and for event distribution — exported from different places and requiring different plans. If you only want to print a map for yourself, use the personal one.
There are two kinds of PDF map
| Personal PDF map | PDF map for event distribution | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Print and use it yourself | Hand out to participants |
| Where to export | PDF Map on the category screen (right below Play) | Prepare → PDF Map on the event management screen |
| Plan required | Player Plan (the Organizer Plan can export it too) | Organizer Plan |
| Courses covered | Only the course of the category you opened | Selectable from the courses in the event |
The PDF Map card in the Prepare group of the event management screen is the event distribution version, meant for handing out to participants. It cannot be exported on the Player Plan.
If you only want to print a map for yourself, follow How to create a personal PDF map below and export from PDF Map on the category screen. That one can be exported on the Player Plan.
How to create a personal PDF map
You export it from the screen you reach after choosing a category (course). If you open the category from the event management screen (dashboard), the PDF Map row is not shown, so enter from one of the two routes below.
From a published event
- Open the event from the home screen or event search (open it from the participant-facing event screen, not the event management screen)
- Tap a category (course)
- Tap PDF Map, right below Play
- Choose PDF Map (choosing PDF Spot List exports a list of spots instead)
- Set the paper size, scale, and the other options
- Tap Export at the top right. Once the PDF is created, a screen for saving or sharing opens, so save it to your device or print it
From an unpublished event (Test Play)
Even if the event is not published, you can export in the same way from the test play screens. This route also works for published events.
- Open the event management screen (dashboard)
- Tap Test Play in the Prepare group
- Tap a category (course)
- Tap PDF Map, right below Test Play
- From here, follow step 4 onward above
If this message appears when you tap the category in step 3, no course is assigned to that category (the category settings list shows "⚠️ No course assigned"). First assign a course under Course in Category Settings. For how categories and courses relate, see Understand the Event Structure — Category.
Settings you can choose
You can set the Paper size, Scale, map, North Reference (True North / Magnetic North), Course opacity, control circle radius, whether to show circle centers and control numbers, and the spacing of magnetic north lines. If no course is set or part of the background map cannot be fetched, a warning is shown.
For Scale, you can pick from the list (1 : 500 to 1 : 50,000), or use Enter a custom scale… at the top of the list to specify a whole number from 1 : 200 to 1 : 100,000. When you open the screen, the scale at which the whole course fits on the paper is selected automatically. It is selected again when you change the paper size or the map, but once you have chosen a scale yourself it no longer changes automatically.
Unlike the event distribution version, there is no course selection. The course of the category you opened is fixed.
What the PDF contains
Besides the background map and the course, a PDF map you create contains the following. This is the same for personal PDFs and PDFs for event distribution.
- Map source (copyright credit) — At the bottom center. This is the source of the map, such as GSI Maps or OpenStreetMap, or the copyright credit the organizer registered for the map
- Event QR code — At the bottom right. It is a QR code for opening the event
- Scale and direction — The scale bar and the scale (Scale 1 : N) at the bottom left, and a north arrow at the top right. When magnetic north lines are shown, the magnetic declination is included too
- Creation record — Below the frame, the date and time of creation, the event name, and the course name appear in small type, in fixed English wording
There is no field for adding the event name or the course name as a large title. A personal PDF also contains a personal-use notice and your display name and email address (see Notes).
When the organizer has registered a PDF
If the organizer has registered a printable PDF file for that category, this row changes to Get PDF Map. In that case it downloads the PDF the organizer prepared, and a personal PDF map cannot be exported.
- Free categories — anyone who can see the category can download it
- Paid categories — only purchasers can download it. Before purchase, only Preview is available
PDF maps for purchased courses can also be downloaded from the web purchase history page (My Page → Purchase History).
Notes
- If you are not subscribed to the Player Plan — the button at the top right becomes Preview instead of Export, and you can only check a PDF with a SAMPLE watermark inside the app (you cannot save or share it). Once you subscribe, it changes to Export
- Creating a PDF requires a connection — the background map is downloaded on the spot to draw it, so a large paper size or a wide area uses more data. Creating it where you have Wi-Fi is safer
- Permanent (no time limit) events cannot export it — the category screen of a permanent event has no PDF Map row
- Exporting requires login — exporting is available only in the smartphone app, not on the web
A personal PDF carries a notice limiting it to personal use, together with your display name and email address. It may not be reproduced, redistributed, shared, transferred, or edited. The PDF itself is created with printing only allowed, so editing and copying are disabled (PDFs for event distribution can be modified, but do not remove the map source).
To hand maps out to participants, subscribe to the Organizer Plan and use the PDF map for event distribution.